The Body Shop and Cruelty Free International (CFI) are calling on the United Nations to end global cosmetics animal testing completely.
The organisations are urging the UN to create an international convention banning cosmetics testing on animals.
Non-governmental organisation Cruelty Free International ramped up its efforts earlier this year by lobbying individual countries, but its new campaign with The Body Shop aims to enforce a worldwide ban by 2020.
Michelle Thew, CEO of Cruelty Free International told Cosmetics Business: “We worked with The Body Shop to get the EU ban through in 2013 and that was the biggest movement at the time.
“We’ve seen a lot of other countries come on board since, such as South Korea, India and New Zealand. But it’s too slow to lobby country by country. Animals can’t wait for that.
“We need a global ban, a UN convention, it will then create a level playing field for governments and all companies.”
According to the NGO, 80% of countries still have no laws against testing in cosmetics and The Body Shop hopes its customers will help end the practice.
The L'Oréal-owned brand will place petitions in all of its 3,000 stores worldwide, as well as its website, and will need more than eight million signatures to take the issue to the UN.
Ethical Consumers
Consumers will be encouraged to spread the word via social media using the hashtag #ForeverAgainstAnimalTesting.
Jessie Macneil-Brown, Senior Manager International Campaigns and Corporate Responsibility, The Body Shop, said: “It requires a lot of logistics, but we have 30 million customers who care about ethical issues so it’s a strong voice to take to the UN.”
The Body Shop and CFI will collect signatures at the end of August next year.
In September 2018, the signatures will be taken to the General Assembly in order to create a draft committee on the issue and then the organisations will help create the convention.
Celebrities will also be joining the campaign and urging their followers to sign the petition
Macneil-Brown revealed to Cosmetics Business that reality TV star Kelly Osborne, Israeli model Bar Refaeli, singers Jhené Aiko and MegBaby will help to promote the campaign.
In the Middle East, the campaign will begin after Ramadan, which ends on 24 June.
